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The World Bank at its Best: The Land and Poverty Conference(Thomas Reuters blog, April 1, 2015)While the World Bank will always have its detractors, the ability of a single researcher in the Development Research Group (DECRG) to create a landmark event for the world’s leading land rights researchers, practitioners and implementers of land management solutions is a notable achievement.

Data and Analysis for More Secure Land Rights, Better Land Use, and SharedProsperityOver 100 sessions at the 16th annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty covered topics as diverse as the role of new technologies in enabling participatory mapping to advances in supply chain monitoring.Story |Session Videos |Conference Information (April 23, 2015)

Managing Food Price VolatilityIn this policy research talk Will Martin discusses the short- and long-term impact of food prices on vulnerable populations and poverty levels around the world.Story | Video(February 2, 2015)

World Bank Tool: A Systematic Solution to Land GovernanceThe food crisis and large land purchases have highlighted the importance of land governance in development. The Land Governance Assessment Framework helps policy makers evaluate and benchmark progress and design land reforms.Story | Video (September 24, 2013)

Countries Strengthen Land GovernanceDemand for food drives up pressure on land resources | Stakeholders agree that improving land governance for the poor should be the top priority | Several countries are taking steps to improve land governance.Featured Research Article (September 2011)

Saving the Forests (Policy Research Report)Preserving the world’s rapidly shrinking tropical forests and improving the economic prospects of millions of poor people requires an urgent strengthening of national forest governance. Globally, this calls for strong financial incentives, says a new World Bank policy research report, “At Loggerheads? Agricultural Expansion, Poverty Reduction and Environment in the Tropical Forests.”Featured Research Article (October 2006 | Report)

Do Roads Bring Jobs to People? Lessons in Economic GeographyAuthorities need to better understand the factors that influence location decisions for manufacturing firms, and also need to view the outcomes of potential policy interventions, such as investment in transport infrastructure to imrpove market accessibility of lagging regions, in a new "economic geography" context.Featured Research Article (January 2006 )

Research Digest

2014

Are Small Farmers More Productive in Rwanda?Labor market imperfections seem to be a key reason for the inverse relationship between farm size and productivity in Rwanda.Research Digest (Spring-Summer 2014)

2013

Urbanization and Poverty ReductionHow can we best bring to bear the forces of urbanization in ending extreme poverty and fostering shared prosperity?Research Digest (Summer 2013)

Land and Poverty: The Importance of TransparencyGreater transparency and accountability in land policies are critical to reducing poverty and inequality and promoting growth.Research Digest (Spring 2013)

What Drives Investments under the Clean Development Mechanism?In choosing projects under the Clean Development Mechanism, investors appear to be weighing more than the relative abatement costs.Research Digest (Winter 2013)

Land in Transition: Reform and Poverty in Rural VietnamVietnam’s rural land reforms have led to gains in both equity and efficiency, despite greater landlessness and some losers.Research Digest (Summer 2008)

Climate Change and Agriculture in AfricaClimate change will have a significant impact on African agriculture. How farmers adapt will matter.Research Digest (Fall 2007)

Will Markets Direct Investments under the Kyoto Protocol?Political aims and cultural ties may influence the placement of emission reduction projects under the Kyoto Protocol.Research Digest (Summer 2007)

Do Girls Gain from Migration-Induced Male AbsenceGirls have bigger health and education gains than boys in households with migrant males, except in those headed by women.Research Digest (Spring 2007)

Policy Briefs

2013

Are Poor Slum-Dwellers Willing to Pay for Formal Land Title? Evidence from Dar es SalaamPoor occupants of informal areas are interested and willing to expend resources for more secure property rights and "co-title," i.e. include women on land titles.Policy Brief (October 2013 )

Are Mega-Farms the Future of Global Agriculture? Exploring the Farm Size-Productivity Relationship for Large Commercial Farms in UkrainePanel data analysis suggests that higher yields and profits are due to unobserved factors at district and farm level rather than economies of scale, and productivity growth was driven not by farm expansion but by exit of unproductive and entry of more efficient farms.Policy Brief (August 2013)

2012

Going Digital: Credit Effects of Land Registry Computerization in IndiaInterventions which reduce the cost of updating land registries and make information more available to lenders (i.e. computerization) can increase credit access.Policy Brief (December 2012)

Climate Change: The Final Blow for Agriculture in Africa?A recent cross-country study shows that the effects of climate change on the African continent may force large regions of marginal agriculture out of production by the end of this century, while helping others.Research Brief (August 2007)